Anne and I went to the Hothouse Flowers concert in Wellington, NZ on Anzac Day 25 April – it was quite brilliant!
They were tentative for the first song – it was the beginning of the Australasian tour and they seemed unsure if they really had an audience after so many years away…
The first song was from their new album and it was obvious that few knew it as the album has been hard to purchase.
Then they played Isn’t It Amazing (Songs from the Rain 1993) and the whole audience went mad and the band just lit up – it was a stunning change to observe from 3 metres away! And the next 2 hours were just brilliant. We found it worshipful – the sense of resurrection joy in their music stood out – so many resonances with what we understand hopeful joy to be all about. They have a very humble stage presence, and you could see the looks of wonder in their eyes as they realized that their music was loved and known.
At the end they said, “It won’t be 13 years before we are back again.”
Great! Come to the south isand as well next time, especially Dunedin! We are still buzzing!
2 comments:
Hi Scarlet Tide
I have all the albums of Hothouse Flowers and Cowboy Junkies incl a dvd of the Junkies in concert - great!
Try to get Songs from the Rain for your first Flowers album - it was my introduction and so spiritual.
Once you are hooked you get to wanting everything else they have done - only 5 albums...
Cheers
Found your blog on the strength of your comment on Liam's. I was at the gig in Auckland, which also rocked. The first HHF albums I "met" were People and Home, both about the same time, and they had huge resonance for me at the time. Likewise, I love songs from the rain. I'm keen to check out one of your services next time I'm in Dunedin, which won't be for a while.
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